From ‘DuckTales’ To ‘G.I. Joe’: These ’80s Cartoon Theme Songs Will Never Leave Your Head

The 1980s was a boom time for kid’s TV thanks to an FCC deregulation ruling that allowed series based on toy products. All of a sudden, the floodgates were open and soon G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and other shows inspired by toy lines were on store shelves. To quote Ray Liotta in Goodfellas, “it was a glorious time.”

What helped make these series so memorable were the theme songs that told young viewers about what they were going to see in the catchiest way imaginable. As a result, the decade is responsible for some of the best-loved themes in cartoon history. As we all bask in the first glimpse of the new DuckTales (which needs to only gently update its theme), let’s look back at the best of the best.

Galaxy High

Before he was inflicting Josh Gad fighting Pac-Man in Pixels on the masses, Chris Columbus brought Galaxy High to Saturday mornings on CBS. The show chronicled the adventures of two Earth teens — lunkheaded jock Doyle and lovable scholar Aimee — as they attended a high school featuring students from across the galaxy. The underrated toon only ran for 13 episodes back in 1986, but remains fondly remembered thanks in no small part to its Daft Punk-ian theme song from The Eagles’ Don Felder.

Glaring omission: SILVERHAWKS!
“Tally Hawk!
Wings of silver, nerves of steel… (Silverhawks!)
Partly metal, partly real… (Silverhawks!)
Soaring through the highway of the heavens in their flight,
SilverHawks, a rainbow in the night!